Because the red, yellow and blue theory would not stand the test of scientific investigation the Young-Helmholtz theory of three other primaries red, green and violet, has been quite generally adopted by the scientists of the past generation.
What the Primary Teacher Needs to Consider.
All these discussions of the scientists are intensely interesting and no doubt of great importance in the line to which they pertain, but practically neither the artists nor the primary school teachers care for all these theories and discussions and because the scientists have closely confined themselves to these lines, the artists and teachers have seen nothing of value to them in their theories.
In going to the solar spectrum for standards on which to base pigmentary standards, we have given little attention to these various theories in their details, but the one fact of science has received careful attention, namely, that all color effects in nature and art are produced by light reflected from material surfaces. Therefore, inasmuch as the light reflected from any surface must be affected by both the material color of the surface and the color of the light which illuminates the surface, it is necessary that every one having to do with this subject be informed as to what color must be expected to result from given conditions.
In order that this phase of the subject be discussed and thus more fully understood, there must be a terminology or nomenclature in which to express the results produced by given conditions, and also standards by which to analyze, measure and record these results. In selecting these standards more regard must be given to the æsthetic or psychical effect of the pigmentary standards than to the purely scientific or physical properties of colored light. This selection is of great interest to the physiological psychologist because it is only by the comparison and averaging of thousands of experiments made on different people that valuable theories can be formulated.
With standards and a nomenclature, color will be placed on an equal footing with other subjects, so that perceptions of color effects may be recorded and discussed with much of the definiteness with which we treat form and tone. Because this has not heretofore been possible, comparatively little advance has been made during the last two decades in the æsthetic consideration of material color which is the only practical phase of the subject, and if any greater progress is to be achieved in the future it evidently must be along new lines.
From the nursery to the university we are constantly asking two questions, "What is it?" and "Why is it?" and this is what the educator from the Kindergarten to the College is called upon to answer. In his laboratory the psychologist is collecting physical facts by tests regarding the powers of the eye and the ear, the sense of touch, weight, memory, etc., and these experiments when classified, arranged and averaged, furnish a basis for formulating theories, all of which is called psychology.
In vision, form and color play the principal parts, in fact cover the whole ground if we include light and shade in color where it belongs.
Experiments regarding form can be and have long been very definitely recorded but this has not been true with color.
To Frœbel must be given the honor of introducing logical form study into primary education, and on this has been built the present admirable system of drawing in our higher grades of schools, and the introduction of the standard forms in solids and surfaces has brought about a definite use of geometrical terms by young children which would have seemed very unnaturally mature a generation ago. But in color no corresponding advance has been made because there have been no generally accepted standards in color to correspond to the sphere, cube, cylinder, circle, ellipse and triangle in form, nor any means for measurements to take the place of the foot or metre for lengths and the divided circle for angles.